Dragon’s Prophet Announced

Over the weekend, Sony Online Entertainment and Runewaker Entertainment officially took the wraps off of Dragon’s Prophet, a new free-to-play fantasy MMORPG that “lets players align and battle with a variety of dragons as they work to restore order to the land from the evil Black Dragon that has escaped his eternal prison.” Given my admiration for Skyrim and all things Dragonlance, “Dragons Everywhere” sounds like a pretty good approach to me:

And here’s the press release:

WINGED BEASTS TO TAKE FLIGHT IN NEWLY ANNOUNCED DRAGON’S PROPHETTM FROM SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT AND RUNEWAKER ENTERTAINMENT
Free-to-Play Leader Enters Into Licensing and Publishing Partnership with Runes of Magic® Creator
SAN DIEGO Oct. 19, 2012 Last night at its annual fan event, SOE Live, Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) announced a new licensing and publishing partnership with Runewaker Entertainment to bring the fantasy massively multiplayer online game (MMO) Dragon’s Prophetâ„¢ to North America. Developed by Runewaker Entertainment, Dragon’s Prophet transports players to the dragon-filled, beautiful world of Auratia, where they can capture, train and ride dragons.
(As one of the most imaginative and high-quality MMOs in development, Dragon’s Prophet is an incredible addition to our portfolio. It is an exceptional reflection of our mission to develop and support next generation MMOs,) said John Smedley, President, Sony Online Entertainment. (Dragons are some of the most legendary, fearsome and majestic creatures. With thousands of years of story and more dragons in the game than any other MMO, we’re excited to unleash this IP so people can play and interact with dragons like never before.)
Dragon’s Prophet features an action-based combat system that gives players more realistic battle action gameplay. Set in a realm where dragons roam the land, sea and air, the game lets players align and battle with a variety of dragons as they work to restore order to the land from the evil Black Dragon that has escaped his eternal prison, unleashed his fire and is more dangerous than ever.
(As evidenced at this week’s SOE Live event, SOE has a close, transparent relationship with its players. We wanted to create a similar high quality, meaningful experience for the North American players of Dragon’s Prophet,) said John Tang, CEO, Runewaker Entertainment. (SOE is a leader in the online gaming space and know that Dragon’s Prophet will benefit from SOE’s experience in delivering some of the most iconic, innovative online worlds in the industry.)
Key features for Dragon’s Prophet include:
‘¢ Dragons Everywhere: In a world shaped by dragon-kind, more than 300 unique dragons roam the lands. You can fight, capture, train and ride them in order to utilize and build upon their unique skills and abilities to aid your cause.
‘¢ Action-Based Combat System: Dragon’s Prophet uses an auto-target and combo system to give players more realistic battle action gameplay. This system gives players a higher degree of control with a wider range of tactical options than traditional MMOs.
‘¢ Beautiful Immersive World: Players are transported to a breathtaking world filled with amazingly detailed landscapes. Mysteries, challenges and creatures await as players fight for their survival and that of the world of Auratia.
‘¢ Extensive Housing System: Let your imagination and expectations run wild. Players are given complete control to construct and grow their town into unique cities and ultimately an empire.
‘¢ Frontier System: Guild leaders rejoice! With this large-scale construction system, players have the ability to build their ultimate kingdom. By empowering your citizens and constructing a powerful military, true leaders will be able to create and sustain their very own empire!
Headquartered in Taiwan, Runewaker Entertainment is best known for developing the successful free-to-play MMO role-playing game (MMORPG) Runes of Magic. Through the partnership, SOE will publish and digitally distribute Dragon’s Prophet to North American PC gamers as a Free To Play. Your Way.â„¢ game with optional in-game purchases. Upon launch, players will be able to download and play the game for free from SOE or any of its digital partners.
Beta will begin in the next few months. To sign up for beta and for more information on the game, visit: www.dragonsprophetthegame.com.
About Runewaker Entertainment
Runewaker Entertainment was founded in August of 2004, with the capability to develop in-house engines, Runewaker is one of the leading Taiwanese entertainment software developers. All the founding members of the team are industry veterans who share the same dream and vision. At the moment, Runewaker employs over 160 highly skilled programmers, designers and artists and is still expanding. All members of the Runewaker team are passionate and well-versed in different genres of games. Equipped with the most advanced artistic style and innovative development technology the company aims to create a games that are enjoyable for a wide range of audiences. In addition to having a group of talented and dedicated in-house staff, Runewaker also actively collaborate with leading publishers to create games that will be setting a new standard for the industry.
About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games. Best known for its blockbuster hits and franchises, including EverQuest®, EverQuest® II, Champions of Norrath®, PlanetSide®, Free Realms®, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventuresâ„¢, and DC Universe Onlineâ„¢, SOE creates, develops and provides compelling online entertainment for a variety of platforms. SOE is building on its proven legacy and pioneering the future of online worlds through creative development and inspired gameplay design for audiences of all ages. To learn more, visit www.soe.com.